NATO uses the situation in Ukraine to come closer to Russia’s borders, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia Anatoly Antonov said in a press conference hosted by TASS.

"We have noticed that NATO countries have used this as a pretext to throw off all diplomatic words and advance closer to Russia’s borders," he said. According to the deputy minister, he asked to verify how many drills the Alliance conducts at the Russian borders and how many flights the NATO countries’ combat aircrafts perform along the Russian border. "I can say that NATO’s operations by far surpass the activity of the Russian armed forces," Antonov said.

Nevertheless, the activity of the alliance poses no serious threat to the security of Russia, the defense ministry says.

“We do not see any serious threat to Russia’s security from NATO’s activities. Russia’s Armed Forces are providing a proportionate response," Anatoly Antonov said.